Lawmakers funded a program to encourage Arizona farmers to reduce unsustainable irrigation practices with $15.2 million allocated from the state budget as general funds.

Sponsored by Rep. Tim Dunn (Republican, Yuma), HB2026 would have allocated $30 million from the State General Fund for fiscal 2023-2024 to the Farm Irrigation Efficiency Fund. The budget appropriated $15.2 million for this fund, down from the previous year’s program budget of $30 million, funded in part by the 2021 Federal American Rescue Program Act.

“Throughout the session, we received tremendous support for the concept of adding this $15 million to the program we launched last year,” Dunn said. We had tremendous support from both sides of the aisle. “

Rep. Tim Dunn, Republican Yuma

The bill passed the House unanimously in February and passed the Senate Appropriations Committee 8-2 in late March, with Senators Jake Hoffman (R, Queen Creek) and Anthony Kahn (R-Queen Creek) Republicans, Glendale) voted against.

The University of Arizona Cooperative Extension manages funding for programs authorized by the federal Smith Lever Act of 1914. This law created a system of cooperative expansion and community education services with land-based colleges and state colleges. UofA affiliates conduct research on farmers’ agricultural practices and provide grants to farmers who update their irrigation systems to make them more sustainable.

Ethan Orr, UofA Extension’s deputy director of agriculture and natural resources, said the Irrigation Efficiency Fund is “one of the best public investments” for Arizona’s water future.

Applicants for this program must demonstrate a 20% or greater improvement in water efficiency to be eligible for a $1,500 per acre grant funded by the Cooperative Extension. UofA researchers will measure changes in efficiency and record data on the switch to sustainable irrigation.

“Each application is taken very seriously and we have a robust monitoring system,” says Orr.

Since the program’s inception, the Irrigation Efficiency Fund has enabled more than 10,000 acres of farmland to transition from flood irrigation (a less wasteful method of watering crops) to more efficient types of irrigation such as drip systems. I was. While this could increase the likelihood of a “heat island effect” and dust problems, Orr said cooperative expansion would be careful to reduce the risk of converting irrigation to more sustainable systems. It is said that there is

“We’ve been doing[sustainable irrigation]for 20 years, but the whole concept was last year’s conversation about water, going from ‘flood’ to ‘drip’ to people who don’t necessarily have an economic interest or need. To do so,” Dunn said.

The Arizona Sun Corridor is one of the fastest growing megaregions in the country with a population of approximately 6 million people. Rep. Tim Dunn (R-Yuma) said the Farm Irrigation Efficiency Fund is one way he can “protect the city from future water outages” for the people of the Arizona Sun Corridor. (Image credit: Arizona Daily Star)

The UofA Cooperative Extension has allocated more than $11 million for on-farm irrigation projects, which Orr said would save 45,318 acre-feet of water annually, more than 15 times the volume of Lake Tempetown. increase. Farmers participating in the program themselves have invested a total of more than $7 million in efficiency projects when the cost of the system exceeds his subsidy of $1,500 per acre.

According to Dunn, the aim of the program is to show farmers that investing in long-term sustainable irrigation systems is more economical, rather than forcing them to switch all systems overnight. It says.

“In some parts of the state,[farmers]have enough water to grow their crops. We can see if we can help the aquifer by saving just enough water, and we’re trying to make it a win-win,” Dunn said.

According to WorldAtlas, California’s Salinas Valley is the “Salad Bowl of the World,” while Yuma is the “U.S. Winter Salad Bowl,” producing 90% of the nation’s winter leafy greens and vegetables. increase. The Farm Irrigation Efficiency Fund distributes grants to farms in Yuma County, but also aims to extend the program statewide.

“Yuma is very efficient, but in other parts of the state, farmers use six or seven acre feet of water for their crops,” Dunn says. “This shows the rest of the state and the rest of the country, and other farmers next door, how it can be monetized and how it can transform and save water.”

Thanks to programs like this, Arizona uses less water today than it did 60 years ago, Orr said.

He said the On-farm Irrigation Efficiency Fund is one way to “protect the city from future water disruptions for about 6 million people in the Arizona Sun Corridor.”